Nature - autonomous learning

de-naturalisation 137for example, the belief that wilderness areas really exist underpins a gooddeal of green activism – like the opposition to George W. Bush’s intentionto exploit oil reserves in protected areas of Alaska during his presidency.So how does Cronon substantiate his argument that wilderness is a culturalconstruction whose cultural specificity is dissimulated?ACTIVITY 3.4We can begin to answer the above question by reflecting on what the termwilderness implies or connotes. When you hear the word wilderness whatcomes to mind? What meanings and values does the term conjure up? Jotdown your answers as bullet points.The obvious response to the Activity questions is that wilderness meansparts of the non-human world (meaning 1 of the term nature) whoseessence (meaning 2 of the term nature) is to be wild and unaffected bypeople.These cognitive meanings of the term aside, it also has naturalisticmoral and aesthetic meanings (see Box 3.3). Morally, for many people thereis something inherently good or positive about wilderness. It is readilycontrasted with the stress and pollution associated with urban-industrialways of life. Aesthetically, wilderness is also commonly seen as beautifuland uplifting because of its naturalness.Again, pejorative contrasts are oftendrawn with the crass or soulless appearance of towns and cities.Together,the moral and aesthetic connotations of wilderness help support amultimillion-dollar ecotourist industry in North America and beyond.Thisindustry is based on the desire of (usually) urban dwellers to experience‘real nature’ as they hike, camp, climb, ski or kayak in wilderness areas.For Cronon, the layering of cognitive, moral and aesthetic meanings istoo dense and complex to be a mere reflection of wilderness areas ‘as theyreally are’. For instance, he claims it is no accident that wilderness gainsits potency as an idea from a set of hierarchical contrasts that are semanticallytied to it (nature versus society, rural versus urban, country versuscity etc.). But the reason that wilderness is such a beguiling idea is that itappears not to be an idea at all.After all, who could doubt that a region like Alaskais relatively uninhabited and ‘wild’? As Cronon (1996: 25–6) puts it,